Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to thin film plastic bags of the type having hangers which hold the bag and its contents on a supporting rod, such as found in retail display rack, and relates more particularly to an improvement in such bags wherein the hanger portion thereof has an internalized hook which connects to the supporting rod within the area of the bag defined by its side top and bottom edges to more effectively display and utilize space in a retail environment for example.
Plastic film bags having hangers of plastic are known in the industry. These hangers usually include a hook which protrudes outwardly and upwardly from the plastic film portion of the bag. A typical example of this technology can be found in the plastic bag construction disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,662 issued to Montgomery on Jan. 1, 1974. In this patent, it is disclosed to provide a plastic bag wherein a hem at the mouth of the bag is provided for receiving a stiffener portion extending transversely within the bag. The stiffener portion may have a hook which extends outwardly from the bag at the top or leading edge thereof. While such hooks have been an effective way of hanging bags onto hanging rods or the like, it should be understood that the use of such hooks cause the bag to undesirably occupy vertical space otherwise dedicated to the presentation of other or more like bags on the display. This reduction in size of the bag is desirable because it increases the amount of product which can be otherwise presented to a consumer at a given display. Furthermore, the heretofore use of the outwardly extending supporting hook causes an interruption in the perimeter in the bag which from a graphic standpoint is unpleasing to the eye. That is, often the top portion of the bag will carry graphics which will be cut off or drastically interrupted by the supporting hook. U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,622 further discloses in FIG. 6 an insert has a hole 47 provided in the stiffener. This hole serves in lieu of the hook, however, the use of a hole instead of a smoothly channeled receiving slot such as found in the insert of the present invention is undesirable because it causes the user additional time in aligning the opening with the rod and inserting it concentrically over it. Specifically, it requires time to place or remove a package from a display rod and also to place it at a desired location on a display rod relative to other packages or to remove it from the display rod. This is sometimes referred to as "a shoppable package".
It has also been known to use a cardboard header insert which has a internalized recessed hook formed within the stiffener connected transversely to the top end of the bag. However, such hook structures were only found in cardboard type stiffener headers which are prone to breaking off and did not present the load capability presently needed, for example, in the package of underwear or cotton stock apparel, and hanging same on a display hook. Furthermore, in order to establish the sufficient holding strength in the header even for the limited load involved, it was necessary to size the header insert to extend transversely almost entirely across the header. This presents a further problem in that the sides of the header needed to be notched out in order to effectively seal the side edges.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved plastic bag with a hanger incorporated therein having a construction which provides a low cost and effective bag having a hanger which does not extend beyond the outline of the bag thereby providing the bag with a reduced effective height and uninterrupted face.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide an improved package made of plastic film or the like having an associated hanger made from plastic or the like which may be heat welded with the film thereby enabling the package to be compact and self-contained.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide an improved package of the aforementioned type having an internalized hanger which provides a fixed and unvarying relationship between packages of like fabrication.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide an improved method of assembling a hanger within a thin film package.
Still yet a further object of the invention is to provide a package which provides high strength and allows the package to be printed on up to its top edge.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the appended claims and the following specification.